A Little Loopy
by Lady Emily
Summary: Nancy gives Joe some high-quality blackmail material while under the influence of pain medication. Chapter Two added. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and am not making any monetary profit from this story.

* * *

"She looked okay, I suppose." Carson Drew told Frank and Joe Hardy. They were sitting together in the waiting room in River Heights Memorial Hospital. "A few scrapes on her arms and face, two broken fingers, and the leg, of course, but she was alert." He sighed. "She must be in a lot of pain though. The doctor said her left leg was fractured in multiple places."

Frank winced. "Poor Nancy."

"It could have been a lot worse though." Joe said seriously. "Some scrapes and a broken leg is coming off pretty easy for a fall off a third story balcony." He cringed every time he pictured the scene. He, Frank, and Nancy had been outnumbered in the fistfight, five to three. He had just knocked out his first thug when he saw Nancy's opponent block one of her kicks and give her a hard shove, sending her toppling over the low railing.

"_Nancy!" Joe cried, seeing his friend go over the edge. He was relieved when he saw her fingers still clasping the bars of the wrought-iron railing for dear life. "Hold on, we're coming!"_

_Frank saw what had happened as well, but he was fighting two people at once. The momentary loss of concentration gave his opponent the opportunity to lay Frank out on his back, groaning._

_Joe leaped over the body of the fallen henchman but was stopped by the last man, who grabbed him from behind in a chokehold. Helpless, Joe watched as the thug who had pushed Nancy smiled evilly and stepped on her fingers. Nancy let out an awful shriek as she lost her precarious hold, and a second later there was a terrifying thud as she hit the ground._

"_Nancy!' Frank roared, picking himself up and disposing of his two opponents by bashing their heads together (with significantly more force than he normally would have used). Joe, too, felt a manic energy surge through him. He somehow got loose from his captor and tripped him up, the man's head bouncing off the tiled terrace. He grabbed the man who had pushed Nancy (and who was now gawking over the railing at his handiwork) and threw him against the wall. With a single punch, the man was out._

_Joe crossed to the railing, not really wanting to see what lay below- the sight of Nancy's body spread-eagled on the ground, face pale with shock and pain, leg bent at an unnatural angle almost made him physically sick with fear. Frank was already halfway down the stairs as Joe whipped out his cell phone and dialed 911._

"That was one of the scariest moments of my life." Joe said. "And I've had a lot of scary moments."

"No kidding." Frank said quietly.

Carson shook his head and surveyed the Hardys. For the first time since he had gotten the call that Nancy was in the hospital he was able to think about something else besides his daughter's condition, and now he saw that neither boy had made it out of the confrontation unscathed. Frank's jaw was badly bruised and was starting to swell, and Joe had a split lip and a fair-sized lump on the back of his head. Both boys' knuckles were bruised and bleeding. "You know, you boys should get checked out too." Carson said. "Your father would kill me if I let you go home without getting looked at."

"We're fine." Frank said, resting his chin on his clasped hands.

"Later." Joe agreed.

At this point, Nancy's boyfriend Ned Nickerson entered the waiting room. "The nurse says you two can go in now." he said to Frank and Joe, looking slightly reluctant to deliver the message. "She said to tell you that they're putting Nan on some pretty heavy pain meds though. She might be asleep or something when you go in." At least, he hoped she would be. The truth was, Ned dreaded leaving Nancy alone with Frank even for the fifteen minutes of visiting time they were allowed. At least Joe would be with them, Ned consoled himself, although he suspected Joe was hardly likely to care about any flirtations going on between his brother and Nancy, one way or the other.

"Thanks, Ned." Joe said, standing. Frank followed him down the hall and into Nancy's room.

Nancy was awake, looking pale and bruised, but she smiled when they came in. One leg was encased in a cast from foot to hip, and it was slightly elevated in a sling that hung from the ceiling.

"Wow, Nan." Joe said, appreciatively eying the sling. "I've never gotten one of these."

"Then I guess you've never had your leg broken in four places." Nancy said with a slight giggle. To emphasize her point, she rapped on the cast with her knuckles.

Frank and Joe exchanged amused glances. The pain medication Ned had warned them about seemed to be making her a little loopy. They took a seat on either side of her bed.

"How are you feeling?" Frank asked sympathetically, taking her hand and giving it a careful squeeze.

Nancy shook her head. "It hurt a lot, but it's better now."

The hand that was resting near Joe had two splinted and bandaged fingers. Joe's eyes narrowed as he remembered her attacker's boot grinding into them, forcing her to let go... "Sorry we couldn't get to you in time." he said softly.

"Don't worry about it." Nancy said, her grin slightly dazed. "It was going to happen sooner or later."

"Yeah, but now we don't have a hundred-percent keep-Nancy-from-falling rate anymore." Joe said. He winked at her playfully.

"Don't flirt with me, Joe Hardy!" Nancy said, laughing again. "It's never going to work!"

Joe laughed too. "They're giving you good drugs, huh, Nance?"

Nancy didn't appear to understand the question. Instead, she turned to Frank. "Ouch, Frank, your face!" she said loudly.

Frank touched his sore jaw with a grimace. "It's nothing. Just a little bruise."

"Well, I still think you look handsome." she reassured him, not lowering her volume at all.

Frank blushed slightly. "Thanks, Nan."

"No, really." Nancy continued. "You're adorable, Frank. And so smart. It's sexy."

Frank turned a darker shade of red and glared at Joe, who was clearly struggling not to laugh out loud. "Shut up, Joe."

"Don't listen to him." Nancy said. "You're a lot nicer than he is. Really sweet. That's one of the things I love about you. And, you don't have a smart mouth that always gets us in trouble." she said, swiveling her head comically to glare for a moment at Joe, who could no longer contain his laughter. "That's one of the things I love about you too." She sighed loudly and longingly. "I think you're amazing, Frank."

Frank attempted a smile. "I think you're pretty great too, Nancy." he said awkwardly, standing up. "Well, Joe and I should be going. Our fifteen minutes is almost up." He was lying; they had only been there for seven minutes. Joe continued to snicker but didn't call him on it.

But Nancy did. "Aww," she protested, in a pleading voice. She grasped Frank's hand and held it to her face. "Stay with me. Please?"

Frank sighed. He couldn't stop the feelings that arose from the simple touch of her warm, smooth skin under his fingers. She wasn't making this easy for him. Momentarily, he gave in to temptation and stroked his thumb gently over her cheekbone. "Get some rest, Nan." he said softly.

She pouted when he pulled his hand away. "Bye Frank."

As Joe passed her bed on the way out he gave a little grin and waved at her. "Bye, Nancy."

She giggled, her sulking forgotten, and waved back cheerfully. "Bye Joe!"

Frank started walking fast the moment he was out of the room and into the hallway, knowing that if Joe caught up to him he'd be in for the ribbing of a lifetime. He was unpleasantly unsurprised to hear Joe's mocking falsetto in his ear.

"'I think you're amazing, Frank.'" Joe teased, keeping up with Frank pace for pace. "And sexy." he added with a cheeky grin.

Frank scowled at him. "Joe, she was high as a kite. She didn't know what she was saying."

"Aw," Joe said, poking his brother in the ribs, "I wouldn't say she didn't _mean_ it..."

Frank sighed as he reached the safety of the waiting room, where Carson and Ned were sitting quietly. No matter how cheeky Joe was, he knew his brother wouldn't say anything in front of Nancy's father and boyfriend. Especially her boyfriend. "Hey, Joe, how about you shut it?" he murmured under his breath, then smirked. "You know how your smart mouth always gets us in trouble."

* * *

When Nancy awoke the first thing she was conscious of was a throbbing pain in her entire leg. She opened her eyes slowly and realized it was still nighttime; the hospital room was dark. She dimly spied her father's figure snoring lightly in the chair beside her. She stifled a moan as she tried to shift to a slightly more comfortable position. The memory of the fall came back to her and she sucked in a sharp breath... lying on the ground, panting, sickly white bone poking through the flesh of her calf... the ambulance ride... Here she lost track of time; she had probably been unconscious. There would have been some kind of surgery, she supposed, but the next thing she remembered was her father sitting by her bedside, stroking her hair and murmuring soothingly... Then Ned came in... and weren't Frank and Joe here at some p-... _shit._

Nancy's head fell back upon her pillow, her face burning so hotly that she was sure it was giving off light in the darkness. _I didn't really say that... did I? _She squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment, as if closing them hard enough would enable her to erase the past.

_...Shit._

* * *

A/N: I needed to write something fun. I'll probably write a part two so Joe can do some more mocking, lol. Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Huh, part two didn't turn out quite as hilarious as I'd envisioned it, but even so, I like it. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: As always, this story was written strictly for fun and not profit. None of the characters used belong to me.

* * *

"Ungh." Nancy grunted as she laboriously made her way through the hospital parking lot on her new crutches. Her father had offered to push her to the car in a wheelchair, but she had stubbornly insisted on 'getting some practice'... a decision she was now regretting.

Carson hovered at her shoulder, his hand only a few inches from her elbow, ready to catch her at any moment. "Sweetheart, don't push yourself so hard. Take your time. You're still recovering from a bad accident."

"I'm fine." she lied, sweat beginning to stand out on her forehead.

Her father shook his head and moved ahead of her to open the car door for her. "It's okay to need help sometimes." he chided gently, taking her crutches as she sat, and guiding her broken leg into the car.

She sighed. "Sorry, Dad." She was exhausted- she couldn't believe what a toll just walking now took on her body. She was already dreading the ascent up the stairs to her bedroom when she got home.

"You know, Frank and Joe are leaving tonight." Carson remarked conversationally, starting the car and backing out of the parking space.

"Oh? So soon?" Nancy couldn't tell if she was more relieved or disappointed. She loved spending time with the Hardys... but right now, even the mention of either boy- but especially Frank- made her flush with embarrassment. She hadn't talked to either since her medicated confessions to Frank, half-hoping that if she waited long enough to break the silence the incident would be forgotten.

"It has been a whole week since the case was wrapped up." Carson reminded her. "It was very nice of them to stay around so long to see you into recovery... especially considering you've barely said two words to them all week."

Nancy lowered her eyes. Frank and Joe had come to see her in the hospital every day, and she always managed to be 'asleep' at the time of their visit. She had the feeling she hadn't been fooling anyone, and it looked like her father was no exception.

The car pulled into the Drew driveway and was met by Ned. He opened the door for Nancy and helped her out of the car, pulling her close for a kiss. "Welcome home, Drew." He supported her weight as her father readied the crutches. "Shall we go in?"

Nancy took a deep breath, subtly rolling her aching shoulders. "Let's go."

Carson and Ned guided her as she worked slowly towards the front door. Once inside, she looked around in stunned amazement. The entire contents of her bedroom- bed, desk, wardrobe- were arranged in the living room, just as they had been in her room upstairs. Hannah, Frank, and Joe were waiting for her, and they grinned as she gazed around, astonished.

"You moved my room!" she gasped at her father, eyes wide, relief washing over her at the prospect of not having to climb the stairs.

"We all did." Carson chuckled, gesturing to Hannah, Ned, the Hardys, and himself.

"Thank you." Nancy said gratefully, her eyes resting on each in turn.

"It was Frank's idea." Hannah said, smiling proudly at the older Hardy. "He realized that you'd be having a hard time getting around, and thought up a solution so you wouldn't be trying to get up and down those stairs all the time."

Nancy stiffened at Frank's name. She couldn't believe he had set this up for her... it was one of the sweetest things she had ever heard. But just the thought of saying so made her cheeks redden. She glanced at him quickly before dropping her gaze to her feet. "Thanks, Frank."

"You got it, Nan." he replied quickly.

"Oh!" Hannah said, oblivious to the tension in the room. "I made cake. Cinnamon chocolate chip, your favorite!"

Nancy smiled warmly at the motherly housekeeper. "Wow, I should break my legs more often- this is better than my birthday!" she said. "You didn't have to do that."

Hannah quirked an eyebrow. "Does that mean you won't want a piece?" she challenged.

"No." Nancy said immediately. The group laughed as they headed into the kitchen. Nancy paused, however, as Ned stayed behind.

"I can't stay." he confessed regretfully. "I have to go back to work."

"I understand." Nancy replied. She reached for him and pulled him into a one-armed hug that nearly sent her crutches clanging to the ground, but he caught them with the reflexes of a quarterback and offered them back to her before kissing her deeply. "Thanks for everything." she said breathlessly as they parted. "Do you want a piece of cake for the road?" She glanced through the kitchen door and saw Frank and Joe talking earnestly with Hannah. Frank happened to meet her gaze and they both blushed.

"No thanks." Ned said, his expression darkening as he followed Nancy's line of vision. "Earth to Nancy. What are you staring at?"

Nancy's attention returned to Ned as she scrambled for an explanation for her flushed cheeks. "It's nothing, I, ah, was just thinking, I said some weird things to Frank and Joe in the hospital, because of the pain meds, and I just know Joe is going to tease me about it." It wasn't exactly a lie.

"Oh." Ned said shortly. He gently released her. "I'll call you tomorrow, Nancy. Love you."

"Love you too." she answered. When he was gone, she turned back towards the kitchen and was startled by Joe, who was standing right behind her with a piece of cake. "Joe!"

He steadied her as she took a seat on her bed. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." he said, offering her the cake. "Hannah told me to bring this to you."

She accepted it, eyes narrowed. "Thanks."

"You know, you can't avoid my brother forever." Joe said conversationally, sitting next to her.

Nancy plunged her fork into her cake. "I wasn't." she said dryly. "I was avoiding you."

Joe placed a hand over his heart. "You wound me, Nan." he smiled slyly. "It's because of my smart mouth, isn't it?"

Nancy vaguely recognized the words and found herself blushing yet again. "Yes." she sighed. "Do I want to know exactly what I said to him?"

"I dunno, Nan." Joe grinned, obviously dying to tell her. "You threw around some pretty complimentary words... sweet... smart... sexy..."

Nancy cringed. She didn't remember the exact exchange, but the very idea of saying that to Frank mortified her beyond belief. "I can't believe I did that."

"You had nothing nice to say about me though..." Joe continued, musingly. "Odd..."

"Not that odd." Nancy said, shooting him a glare.

Joe laughed. "No need to be hostile. Frank knows you were a little out of it."

"A little?" Nancy muttered darkly.

"Every time I teased him, he kept saying 'She's drugged up, she doesn't know what she's saying'." Joe reassured her. "He doesn't think it means anything. Of course, I know better."

Nancy raised both her eyebrows. "And what is that supposed to mean?" she asked defensively.

Joe shrugged. "I dunno. Just that, sometimes, when people are drugged up, they lose their inhibitions and admit to things that they suppress when they're sober." he said innocently.

"You're full of it, Joe." Nancy scowled. "What do you think you are, a psychologist?"

"Freudian." Joe confirmed with a nod of his head.

Nancy rolled her eyes and gave him a shove. "I don't have a crush on Frank." she denied.

"You said it, not me." he replied infuriatingly. He rubbed his shoulder where she had pushed him. "And you're lucky my mother taught me not to hit girls." he grumbled.

Nancy was fed up with his teasing. "Get out of my bedroom!"

Joe looked around. "Oh, I thought this was the living room." Nancy threw a pillow at him and he backed out of the room, hands in the air. "Alright, alright..." he murmured. "Geez, that will teach me to bring a girl cake..."

Nancy carefully swung her legs onto the bed, leaning against the headboard and picking up her cake. "Such a drama queen." she huffed under her breath. She sighed, then groaned. If she was honest with herself, Joe had been right. She had always had special feelings for Frank. He was one of the kindest people she knew, and one of the cleverest as well. As a fellow detective, she couldn't help but admire him, and as a close personal friend, well, she could admit, if only to herself, that she had wondered a few times what it would be like to cross the line between friends and something more. Of course, nothing could ever really happen between them- she had Ned, and he had a girl in Bayport, Callie- but she couldn't deny she felt a connection with the older Hardy brother that occasionally strayed into romantic territory.

And her words to him in the hospital had definitely crossed that carefully-constructed line that they both faithfully toed.

She took a bite of Hannah's delicious cake and chewed it slowly, ponderously. She needed to clear the air between her and Frank... and to do that, she'd have to talk to him.

* * *

"Frank?" Nancy called up the stairs. She knew he and Joe were packing for their return to Bayport, and she wanted to talk to him before they were on their way out the door. "Can I talk to you for a second?" Just the sight of the eleven steps to the second story made her feel tired.

Frank appeared at the top, the large duffel he had been living out of for the past few weeks slung over his shoulder. "Sure, Nancy." He made it to the bottom of the stairs and set the heavy bag at his feet. "Do you want to sit down?" he asked.

Nancy was touched by his concern. "I'm fine for now." she said quietly. "Look, Frank, I just wanted to say thanks again, for all this." She waved her hand to indicate her newly relocated bedroom. "It was really thoughtful of you."

"It was nothing." Frank said, matching her soft tone.

"It was something." Nancy corrected gratefully. "You have no idea how much I was dreading that climb."

"Well, in that case, you're welcome." Frank returned warmly.

"And there's something else," Nancy began her attempt to apologize for her behavior in the hospital, but she was suddenly starting to feel lightheaded, whether due to the rush of blood to her cheeks or the strain of propping herself up she didn't know. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears. "In the hospital. I didn't... I wasn't... I was-"

"Don't worry about it." Frank said. "We'll strike it from the record."

Nancy's eyes met Frank's for the first time in the conversation. "It's not that I don't-" she started, trying to explain that while she did think he was an amazing person, she hadn't meant to say it so candidly, but as her mind reeled she lost control of her crutches and they went tumbling to the ground yet again.

Unlike Ned, Frank let them fall on the carpet with two resounding thumps, instead extending his hands to her elbows to hold her up. She clutched his upper arms like a lifeline. "Thanks." she said breathlessly. "I'm no good with those."

"I think you should sit down." Frank said, not moving for fear of knocking her off-balance again.

"Me too." Nancy agreed ruefully. She allowed Frank to loop her arm around his neck and guide her to her bed. His touch somehow evoked her hazy memories of seeing him in the hospital. Frowning, she reached a hand out to his face and lightly stroked her thumb over his cheekbone.

It was Frank's turn to blush; he had doubted she would remember his actions so clearly. "I didn't mean anything by it, Nan." he said lowly.

"Me neither." she whispered. They had reached an impasse, trapped in exactly the sort of tender moment they had always tried so diligently to avoid. The silence between them lengthened as the distance between them lessened, as though they were drawn together by some hypnotic gravitational force.

"Frank, I can't find my razor." Joe appeared in the doorway.

Frank let out a long breath, half-relieved, half-disappointed. "It's packed." he answered.

Nancy used Joe's distraction to regain her composure, and when Frank turned back to her, she gave him a smile. "So... stricken from the record?"

"Stricken from the record." he agreed gratefully. He gave her hand a quick squeeze and rose from the bed. "And next time Joe's laid up in the hospital, looped up on pain meds, I'm video taping it."

"Make me a copy." Nancy requested with a grin.

Frank returned it. "Of course."

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it!


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